How Much Does A Website Cost?

It's an age old question and one most web professionals cringe at when they're asked it. Pricing a website doesn't take a one-size-fits-all approach.

If you don’t have a budget, it’s likely you don’t know how much a website is going to cost. I have a minimum price for my work to avoid requests to add small features to a website (ie, Social Icons, Update Hours, etc.). If the amount of work doesn’t meet that threshold, I respectfully turn down the work.

The trouble with this question is it’s only relevant to the questioner and not the questionee. You have an idea of what you want but haven’t clearly communicated to me what that is. It usually goes something like this, “I have a flower business and I need a website. How much is it to design a website?”

So you sell flowers. That’s where the information ends and is not enough to give you an accurate price. Sure, I can ballpark it, “Most small business websites range from $3,000 to $6,000.” But it really depends on your goals.

Web Design Is A Service, Not A Product

If you hire an electrician to re-wire your home you won’t be asking him on your first encounter, “How much will this cost me?” He’ll likely need to visit your home and inspect your current wiring and electrical situation (Where isfuse panel is? What’s the condition of the electrical outlets? How many light fixtures are there? etc.). After the inspection, he’ll have enough information to create an estimate. The same goes for web design.

Before you approach a web designer think about what your website should accomplish.

Will it list hours, directions & contact information?

How much detail will you give about each product or service?

Will you sell your product online?

Who is your audience?

How will you know your website is a success?

If you feel the urge to review your competitor’s websites, by all means, do so. Just know that you can’t determine if there website is successful just by looking at it.